CLAS Graduate and Undergraduate Curricular Development and Revision Guidelines
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•"Sunsetting" Academic Programs
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Any new degree program or modifications to existing undergraduate and graduate curricula (majors, minors, certificates, concentrations, including thesis and non-thesis degrees) must be submitted to the CLAS Curriculum Committee (CCC) for approval.
Introduction to the Graduate Curricular Approval Process
The Graduate School has announced the launch of a new web tool intended to help departments track additions and changes to their curricula, proposals for new degree/majors and the removal of outdated ones. The tool can be found at http://approval.ufl.edu/ ; access requires a Gatorlink account. Anyone with a Gatorlink account may submit a request or view the status of a request.
All requests must be submitted electronically, where they will be tracked from the originator all the way through the university’s administrative bodies. To begin submitting a proposal, go to http://approval.ufl.edu/ and chose either the link for Graduate Degree Program or the link for Graduate Curriculum. Instructions are provided on the submission page for each type of request. After initial submission, additional documents may be attached to the request by the submitted.
Persons with approval authority can make and explain one of the following decisions:
- Approve – this moves the request forward to the next higher level.
- Deny – this stops the request, no further action can occur.
- Recycled – this returns the request to the last approver or to the submitter.
- Tabled – this holds the request at that level in the process.
- Transferred – this sends the request to another unit at the same level for review
Introduction to the Undergraduate Curricular Approval Process
Once the CCC has approved curricular items (UCC1 forms with CLAS Checklist and syllabi, need to be submitted to the CCC; UCC2 forms are submitted to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, signed, and forwarded to the University Curriculum Committee (UCC) without passing through the CCC), they will be forwarded to the UCC in the case of undergraduate courses, for approval and inclusion in the Undergraduate Catalogue.
These guidelines address the creation and revision of certificates and minors, and revision of existing majors, and adding options to existing degree programs, e.g. BA, BS, non-thesis option, etc.
In all these cases, a memorandum addressed to the CLAS Curriculum Committee (CCC) incorporating the following information is requested. Please go to the website at CLAS Dean’s Office (CLAS Forms) for a memo with a UF Logo that allows inputting of departmental name, address, curricula, etc. to be customized for this particular use.
The CCC considers proposals for majors, minors, and certificates (and revisions of each) as action items. The CCC can send proposals back for revisions when deemed necessary. (The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will have had prior contact with the department representative to work on revisions before it is placed on the CCC agenda.) When approved by the CCC, the proposal is forwarded to the University Curriculum Committee (UCC). After proposals have received UCC approval, please remember to add the new information in the next round of CATALOGUE REVISIONS. The UCC then forwards proposals to the Faculty Senate where it appears first as an information item; then at the following meeting (i.e. one month later) the proposal becomes an action item. If the Senate votes to approve, the proposal moves forward to Tallahassee.
The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will request department representatives to attend the UCC or Faculty Senate meetings to respond to questions from either body when their proposals are placed on the agenda as action items.
New Degree Proposal
- UF Guidelines for New Degree Proposals (DOC)
- Pre-Proposal Form (DOC)
- Proposal Form (DOC)
- Tables 1-4 (XLS)
Certificates
Certificates (minimum 12 credits) must be printed and provided by the granting unit to prove that students have studied a concentration in a particular field of study since Certificates do not appear on UF transcripts.
Creating NEW Certificates
- Identify your department, program, or center, by adapting the field under the UF Logo.
- Introduce the field the Certificate will cover and provide a rationale or justification for establishing it.
- Provide a curricular list with prefix, number, title, and
number of credits, indicating those that are
required from those that are not (i.e. electives left unmarked):
JPN 3410 Advanced Japanese 1 (3) required
JPN 3411 Advanced Japanese 2 (3) required
JPT 3300 Samurai War Tales (3)
JPT 4502 Japanese Folktales (3) - Indicate where the certificate is to be housed and who is
to be the advisor.
Revising Existing Certificates
- Same as above.
- Provide a rationale or justification for revising the existing certificate.
- Provide curricular lists in two columns, indicating those that are required from those that are not (i.e. electives left unmarked)
- Indicate where the certificate is housed and who the advisor is.
Minors
Minors (minimum 15 credits) appear on official transcripts.
Creating NEW Minors
- Please follow the guidelines to create new Certificates (the only difference is the required minimum number of credits from 12 to 15 for a minor). A memorandum to the CCC still serves the purpose as delineated above.
Revising Existing Minors
- Please follow the guidelines for revising Certificates. A memorandum to the CCC still applies.
Revising Majors
A department memorandum will still suffice to revise existing majors,
however, more information
is required. In addition to the current and proposed curricular lists
(in two columns as delineated
above), an 8-semester tracking is required to notify UCC, AAC, etc.
of changes that will need to
be made in the CATALOGUE and ADVISING. Please do not forget to input
these changes into the
next round of CATALOGUE REVISIONS. (Please do not contact the Associate
Dean for Academic
Affairs of proposed revisions to the major until departmental authorization
has been received to
proceed to the CCC.) Once approved by the CCC, the proposal will
be forwarded to the UCC, the
Faculty Senate, and the Board of Trustees for final approval.
- Please input information under the UF Logo re: department, address, etc.
- Provide a rationale or justification for the proposed revision of the major.
- Provide curricular lists, current in the left and proposed in the right columns, indicating prefix, number, title, credits, and designate required courses, electives, and the like, in separate sections of the roster.
Adding an Option to a Major (BA, BS, Non-thesis)
A proposal consisting of an introduction, rationale or justification,
is required followed information that
indicates changes between current and proposed curricular lists that
distinguishes requirements from
electives, and an 8-semester tracking are to be incorporated into
the memorandum for eventual inputting
into the CATALOGUE and ADVISING system. Furthermore, TABLE 1A from
the Pre-proposal for
New Degree Programs needs to accompany the packet to project the
number of students that will enroll
in this new option of the major. Likewise, a statement on the cost
of adding the option must be addressed.
Budgetary cost (i.e. cost per student) is mitigated by the number
of students that in the new option.
- Rationale or justification
- Current Existing Degree in left column vs. New Degree Option in right column, followed by curricular lists under each. Provide grand total number of credits required in each column.
- 8-Semester Tracking Plan. Provide total number of credits in each semester and grand total required for degree.